News

Listen to Bonus Tracks “Baby’s Got It Bad” and “Can’t Get Over You”

Oct 03, 2018By Christopher Roberts

Tracyanne & Danny is a new project from Camera Obscura frontwoman Tracyanne Campbell and Danny Coughlan (who has previously released music as Crybaby). Their self-titled debut album, Tracyanne & Danny,came out back in May via Merge (it was our Album of the Week). Now they have shared a video for "Cellophane Girl." It features footage filmed on their recent U.S. tour as the goof around America. The band has also shared two bonus tracks from the album, "Baby's Got It Bad" and "Can't Get Over You." More

Floating Festival on a Cruise Ship Also Includes Alvvays, Mogwai, Japanese Breakfast, Django Django, Tracyanne & Danny, Kelly Lee Owens, and More

Sep 05, 2018By Christopher Roberts

Back in February Scotland's Belle and Sebastian told fans they were considering launching a Belle and Sebastian cruise in 2019 and wanted their fans' opinions on it via a survey on their website. Then in May the band announced The Boaty Weekender, a floating festival to set sale from Barcelona to Sardinia and back again on August 8-12, 2019. Now Belle and Sebastian have announced the initial line-up. Most notably, it features Camera Obscura, who are making their return to performing live for the first time since the 2015 death of the band's Carey Lander from cancer. More

Issue 64 Out Now and Also Includes Interviews with Interpol, Beach House, Wild Nothing, Death Cab for Cutie, Suede, Natalie Prass, Ethan Hawke vs. Phosphorescent, Christine and the Queens, Low, Snail Mail, and Much More

Aug 31, 2018By Mark Redfern

Under the Radar is excited to announce the full details of our new print issue, which is out now nationwide (on newsstands, in such stores as Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million, and elsewhere) and available to buy directly from us here. The issue features Kamasi Washington on the cover. More

Plus Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Laura Veirs, CHVRCHES, John Parish, Eels, and a Wrap-up of the Week's Other Notable New Tracks

Mar 30, 2018By Christopher Roberts

Last week we crammed two weeks into Songs of the Week, but this week we're back on track with a regular one-week wrap-up. There was plenty to choose from this week. Our #1 is a funky feminist anthem and our #2 was a close second. Artists whose songs almost made the Top 10 include Hinds, Air Waves (feat. Kevin Morby), mastersystem (remixed by Mogwai), The Lemon Twigs, Sam Evian, and Bernice. More

Project Features Danny Coughlan of Crybaby and is For Merge Records

Feb 26, 2018By Christopher Roberts

Camera Obscura understandably haven't had much activity since the tragic and untimely passing due to cancer of founding member and keyboardist Carey Landerin 2015. The band's last album was 2013's Desire Lines. But now frontwoman Tracyanne Campbell has announced Tracyanne & Danny, a new project with Danny Coughlan (who has previously released music as Crybaby). More

Lander Had a Long Fight Cancer

Oct 11, 2015By Mark Redfern

There is very sad news to report from the Camera Obscura camp. We are saddened to write that keyboardist Carey Lander passed away this morning after a long battle with bone cancer, the band has shared on its Facebook page. The Scottish band,Under the Radarfavorites, recently canceled their planned October shows in Mexico and California because Lander had to have more treatments. More

Lander Launches Just Giving Charity Page

Aug 21, 2015By Christopher Roberts

Sad news from the Camera Obscura camp. The Scottish band, Under the Radar favorites, have been forced to cancel their planned October shows in Mexico and California because keyboardist Carey Lander's fight with bone cancer is ongoing and she has to have more treatments. More

Our Favorite Visuals of the Year

Jan 03, 2014By Mike Hilleary

While the days of watching music videos on television are long gone, over the past several years the visual art form has certainly found second life (like so many other things) as an excellent online commodity. More

Plus: Paul Rudd vs. The Divine Comedy, plus interviews with Broadcast, Grandaddy, The Flaming Lips, Bat For Lashes, Rilo Kiley, Broken Social Scene, and much more

Oct 19, 2011By Mark Redfern

Under the Radar is excited to announce the release of the indie music and entertainment print magazine’s 10th Anniversary Issue which hits newsstands next week.The extra-sized 10th Anniversary Issue features cover artists Joanna Newsom and Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold together in an exclusive photo shoot and joint interview.Exclusive video taken during the cover shoot of Robin Pecknold and Joanna Newsom arm wrestling can be found here. More

Musicians and Actors on Their Childhood Memories

Jul 29, 2010By Mark Redfern

Under the Radar's Summer 2010 issue is a special issue we're calling the Wasted on the Youth Issue. The basic idea of the issue was to talk to musicians and actors about various facets of their childhood/teenage years, from their first favorite bands/concerts to childhood memories to movies/TV shows of their youth, etc. We were interested in talking to musicians and actors about some of their earliest memories and their childhood passions. Many of the articles include childhood or teenage photos of the musicians interviewed. We have the full details on the issue that includes these artists: The National, The Antlers, Fred Armisen, Camera Obscura, Judah Friedlander, Fucked Up vs. Devo, Here We Go Magic, Jim James, Jónsi, Kele, The Kids in the Hall, Liars, Local Natives, Menomena, Chloë Grace Moretz, Elisabeth Moss, Portishead, Robert Rodriguez, School of Seven Bells, Tegan and Sara, Russell Tovey, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Edgar Wright, and many more! More

So Many Interviews, So Little Time: Phoenix, Matt and Kim, Beach House, Camera Obscura, Local Natives, and others

May 07, 2010By Michele Yamamoto

For the past couple weeks, our writers (namely Laura Studarus, Frank Valish, and Hays Davis) have been working hard to bring you website-exclusive interviews. We've posted a total of 12 interviews since late April, 10 of which were conducted at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. Making it easy to keep up, we've complied an alphabetical list of our most recent interviews. Find links to our interviews with Doves, Jónsi, Vampire Weekend, Beach House, Camera Obscura, Phoenix, Matt and Kim, Florence and the Machine, Local Natives, Echo & the Bunnymen,The Big Pink, and more. More

Band to Release Richard Hawley Cover Next Month

Apr 26, 2010By Laura Studarus

One of the bands lucky enough to be Stateside before the Icelandic volcano eruption cut off flights from the U.K., Scottish indie poppers Camera Obscura were counting their blessings when we caught up with them at Coachella. "We do feel for them because that's the sort of shit that would happen to us!" said keyboardist Carey Lander with a laugh. More

Staff photographer and Under the Radar's Co-Publisher/Co-Founder, Wendy Lynch Redfern, was down in Coachella, CA for Coachella 2010. Check out a gallery of her photos from the second day of Coachella 2010. The gallery includes photos of Devo, The Dead Weather, Muse, MGMT, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Dirty Projectors, Beach House. Click here to view the full gallery. More

Jay-Z, Muse, and Gorillaz to Headline Three-Day Festival

Jan 19, 2010By Mark Redfern

One of North America's most anticipated music festivals, Coachella, has announced its 2010 line-up. The three-day festival, which takes place in the California desert near Palm Springs April 16 - 18, will feature Jay-Z, Muse, and Gorillaz as the headliners. Other highlights include: Public Image Limited, The Specials, Grace Jones, Echo and the Bunnymen, Pavement, Sly and the Family Stone, Devo,LCD Soundsystem, Vampire Weekend, Grizzly Bear, Fever Ray, She & Him, Yeasayer, MGMT, Hot Chip, Dirty Projectors, Mew, Camera Obscura, Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros, Thom Yorke????,Phoenix, Spoon, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Yo La Tengo, Deerhunter, The Big Pink, Florence and the Machine, Owen Pallett, and Local Natives.

Hey World, I'm Ready to Be Heart Broken!

Jan 17, 2010By Laura Studarus

Scottish twee-mopers Camera Obscura are hitting the road again in support of their most recent release, My Maudlin Career. The trek will see the band playing festivals and shows in Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Portugal, and Mexico, before arriving stateside in April. More

Seven-Inch Available December 8th

Nov 25, 2009By Laura Studarus

We know Thanksgiving isn't until tomorrow, but maudlin rockers Camera Obscura are already looking forward to Christmas. On December 8th, the band will release mope-worthy holiday single "The Blizzard"—available as either a digital single or 7" with B-side, "Swans." More

New Issue Features Bat For Lashes, Camera Obscura, Doves, The Lonely Island, Depeche Mode, Flight of the Conchords, and much more!

Apr 11, 2009By Mark Redfern

Under the Radar's Spring Issue will be hitting stands soon. Bat For Lashes' Natasha Khan graces the cover and the issue features an in-depth nine-page interview with Khan that traces the long road to her amazing new album Two Suns. More

Camera Obscura, Mumford and Sons, and others impress at our SXSW party

Mar 23, 2009By Mark Redfern

Under the Radar's 2009 SXSW party was presented by JanSport and featured spirited sets from Mumford and Sons, Frances, Viva Voce, Loney Dear, Chairlift, Jason Lytle (of Grandaddy), and Camera Obscura. More

Interviews

How to Make Friends

Oct 15, 2018By Laura Studarus

Camera Obscura's Tracyanne Campbell, and Danny Coughlan, who records as Crybaby, were set up on a blind date of sorts, by a manager and publisher who thought the two musicians' guitar pop might make for a fruitful collaboration. More

Carey Lander on Writing Fan Letters to Stuart Murdoch, Her Former Music Teacher, Bad Haircuts, Scottish Independence, and Time Travel

Feb 06, 2015By Mark Redfern

For Under the Radar's 12th annual Artist Survey we emailed some of our favorite artists a few questions relating to 2014. We asked them about their favorite albums of the year and their thoughts on various notable 2014 news stories involving either the music industry or world events, as well as some quirkier personal questions. More

On Collaborations, Glasgow, and Golf Slacks

Aug 19, 2013By Austin Trunick

When Camera Obscura's Tracyanne Campbell interviewed Lloyd Cole for the June/July 2013 issue of Under the Radar, the two spoke as if they were close friends; we were surprised to find out they'd only briefly met. After Cole had answered Campbell's questions, both artists stayed on the line to answer a few more from us about their history, hobbies, and current albums. Last Friday we posted the main print magazine Q&A between Cole and Campbell. These are extra portions of our interview, quotes that didn't make it into the print article. More

The Broken Hearts Club

Aug 16, 2013By Austin Trunick

Lloyd Cole broke out on the Glasgow, Scotland scene in the mid-'80s, releasing a string of successful albums with his band, The Commotions, before embarking on a remarkably deep solo career. His 1984 debut record with The Commotions, Rattlesnakes, closed with a song titled "Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?" Twenty-two years later, another Glasgow artist would answer that question. More

Head West Child, Head West

Jul 17, 2013By Laura Studarus

“There’s a big misconception that I’m some sort of doomhead,” says Camera Obscura frontwoman Tracyanne Campbell, firing a preemptive shot against those tempted to compare the singer/songwriter to the characters of her bittersweet pop. More

Future Focus

Apr 26, 2010By Laura Studarus

One of the bands lucky enough to be Stateside before the Icelandic volcano eruption cut off flights from the U.K., Scottish indie poppers Camera Obscura were counting their blessings when we caught up with them at Coachella. "We do feel for them because that's the sort of shit that would happen to us!" said keyboardist Carey Lander with a laugh. Under the Radar sat down with the ladies of Camera Obscura—Lander and bandleader Tracyanne Campbell—to chat further about acts of God, record sales, and why Yo La Tengo might hold the key to their future (maudlin) career. More

Musician Moms and Dads on the Challenges of Raising Children on the Road

Mar 22, 2010By Frank Valish

Whatever the perception, as any parent will tell you, raising children is hard work, and for a working musician, balancing writing, recording, and touring with being a full-time mom or dad can be extra tricky. More

If you’re in a Scottish band and the gray, miserable weather of Glasgow in late Fall bums you out, there are few options for feeling better. If you’re Stuart Murdoch, you fill notebooks with stories of funny little frogs and goateed baseball catchers until the sun comes out again. If you’re Mogwai, you turn your amps up until your ears bleed and you can’t feel much of anything. But if you’re Tracyanne Campbell of sweet-tempered sweater-rockers Camera Obscura, you simply skip town to make a record in Sweden. More

Reviews

Festival International de Jazz de Montréal: Camera Obscura, She & Him, Austra

Day two of Coachella 2010 alas offered few highlights. This year Coachella has put way too many great artists on Sunday's bill, which will inevitably lead to a lot of Sophie's Choice-like moments of picking between which favorite artists to see. Whereas Saturday's bill suffered from a lack of must see artists, there was no shortage of artists worth checking out, it's just that few of them delivered. Matters were not helped by the fact that the best set I saw was also the first set I saw. Almost everything underwhelmed after that. More

Day two started out much like day one, in fulltilt. Despite a bevy of physical ailments left over from yesterday's marathon, making it to Camera Obscura's set on time was worth another painful sprint across the field. However day two was light on the heavy hitters, and after the initial close call, I didn't have to hustle to see sets from Beach House, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Hot Chip, MGMT, and Muse. More

Camera Obscura at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, November 22, 2009

Nov 24, 2009By Laura Leebove

Camera Obscura's Tracyanne Campbell crooned, "I don't wanna be sad again" in "My Maudlin Career," the set opener of the band's Nov. 22 show at Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg (and title track of its latest record), but her claim wasn't very convincing. More

SXSW 2009 Day 1

SXSW is a guessing game. There are many hundreds of bands playing at so many different venues, that you can have a fantastic or a lousy time depending on who you see and how well you second guess how long it will take to get into each venue. The goal is to spend most of your time seeing as many great bands as possible, and as little time possible waiting in line or sitting through sets from bands you don’t want to see just to make sure you’re in the venue in time to see the bands you do want to see. Your enemies are late set times and the varying degrees of sound quality at Austin’s many venues. More

Under the Radar’s SXSW Party 2009

Under the Radar's 2009 SXSW party was presented by JanSport and featured spirited sets from Mumford and Sons, Frances, Viva Voce, Loney Dear, Chairlift, Jason Lytle (of Grandaddy), and Camera Obscura. More

Bimbo’s 365 Club, San Francisco, CA

Throughout the night, eyes were locked on Tracyanne Campbell, and although she maintained an unyielding straight face the entire show, the moments she actually did smile sent a ripple through the crowd. More